【Esther Studer】

It sounds like the plot of a terrifying thriller,Esther Studer but in this case, there's a lucky escape and no fatalities.

A Japanese surfer was swept six kilometres (3.7 miles) out to sea around Bulli, on Australia's east coast, spending a night floating on his surfboard in the open ocean.

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The 37-year-old unnamed man was eventually picked up by sailors on container ship MSC Damla Friday morning, after he was sighted by crew.

The man told police he got caught in a strong current, and struggled to get back to shore because of the waves, according to ABC News.

"He was attempting to paddle back in for six hours before he ran out of energy and drifted at sea," Inspector Darren Wood from the Marine Area Command of NSW Police told the news outlet.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Wood said the surfer had been travelling by himself; so no-one knew he was at sea nor were authorities alerted to the fact he was missing.

SC said in a statement that the despite the choppy sea conditions, the ship's crew were able to dispatch a lifebuoy from the vessel and bring the man on board.

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On the ship, he was given food, dry clothes and wrapped in blankets as the ship's crew waited for a pilot boat from Port Kembla to take the man to shore. He was taken to Wollongong Hospital for fluid replacement and checks, but was released in the afternoon.

Port Kembla Water Police Sergeant Sean Netting told the Illawarra Mercurythat the man seemed surprisingly unfazed by his ordeal, despite spending 16 hours at sea.

"The risk would be hypothermia from exposure to the elements, and drowning, should he have become separated from the board. Most people that get themselves in that situation die. He's just so lucky that someone on ship spotted him," he told the newspaper. 

"He was in remarkably good spirits and basically had no [health] issues at all. He's a survivor."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Kevin Clarke, MD for MSC Australia, said that news of the rescue made it "extremely proud of the crew."

"This was, by all accounts, a dramatic rescue which appears to have enabled the man to walk free from his ordeal completely unscathed," he said.

"Naturally, our crew are always being observant of marine traffic, but it is exceptionally fortunate they were able to spot this man waving for help from his surf board."

UPDATE: Jan. 16, 2017, 7:51 p.m. AEDT Added images from MSC.

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